Duke of Normandy
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Duke of Normandy is a title held or claimed by various Norman, French, English and British rulers from the tenth century until the present. The title refers to the region of Normandy in France and several associated islands in the English Channel.
The title of Duke of Normandy is currently held by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, who reigns over the Channel Islands.[1][2] Since the fall of the French Ancien Régime in 1789, there has been no French claimant to the title.
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[edit] Rollo the Viking
The fiefdom of Normandy was created in 911 for the Viking leader Rollo (also known as Rolf).
Rollo and his Viking allies conquered a large region of France and besieged Paris until entering vassalage to Charles the Simple, the king of the West Franks through the Treaty of St.-Claire-sur-Epte. In exchange for homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking (i.e. Northman, Latin Normanorum) origins.
Rollo and his immediate successors were styled as "counts" of Normandy. Some later medieval sources refer to them by the title dux, a Latin term from which is derived the English word "duke"; however, Rollo's great-grandson Richard II was the first to assuredly be styled "Duke of Normandy". Although certain titles were used interchangeably during this period, the title of "duke" was typically reserved for the highest rank of feudal nobility - those who either owed homage and fealty directly to kings or who were independent sovereigns primarily distinguished from kings by not having dukes as vassals.
[edit] William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror added the Kingdom of England to his realm in the Norman Conquest of 1066. This created a problematic situation wherein William and his descendants were king in England but a vassal to the king in France. Much of the contention which later arose around the title Duke of Normandy (as well as other French ducal titles during the Angevin period) stems from this fundamentally irreconcilable situation.
After the death of William the Conqueror, his eldest son Robert Curthose became Duke of Normandy while a younger son, William Rufus, became the English king. A generation later, Henry, Duke of Normandy became king of England, again uniting the titles.
[edit] International contention
In 1204, King Philip II confiscated the Duchy of Normandy held by King John of England and subsumed it into the crown lands. Only the Channel Islands remained under John's control. In 1259, Henry III of England recognised the legality of French possession of mainland Normandy under the Treaty of Paris. But English monarchs continued to use the title Duke of Normandy in reference to the Channel Islands ("insular Normandy"), now subject to the British Crown, though not part of the Kingdom of England or later the United Kingdom.
English monarchs made subsequent attempts to reclaim their former continental possessions, particularly during the Hundred Years' War, and even claimed the throne of France itself.
With the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, Henry V was temporarily sucessful as he regained all territories formerly held by the Plantagenet, including Normandy, and was made regent and heir of France. His son, Henry VI inherited both Kingdoms in 1422 and afterwards English monarchs included King of France among their list of titles and included the Royal Arms of France in their own armorial achievements, even after they had lost their French positions after 1450.
British claims to the whole Duchy of Normandy, the throne of France and other French claims were not abandoned until 1801 when George III and Parliament, in the Act of Union, joined the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland and used the opportunity to drop their French claims. By this time, the French monarchy itself had already been overthrown with the establishment of the French Republic in 1792. The French revolution also brought an end to the Duchy of Normandy as a political entity, as it was replaced by several departements.
[edit] House of Stuart
The future Stuart King James II of England and Ireland (James VII of Scotland), was created "Duke of Normandy" by King Louis XIV of France on December 31, 1660. This was a few months after James's brother, Charles II, had been restored to the throne in England and the Kingdom of Ireland (Charles had already been crowned in the Kingdom of Scotland, in 1651). Since upon becoming King of England, Charles would have already claimed the title "Duke of Normandy" (indeed, it was in insular Normandy, specifically in Jersey, that he was first proclaimed king in 1649) the French king giving the same title to James in respect to mainland Normandy was an important political gesture. Jacobite claimants to the English throne maintained their claims on French possessions as well until the death of Henry Benedict Stuart in 1807.
[edit] Channel Islands
Although the British monarchy relinquished claims to continental Normandy and other French claims in 1801, the monarch of the United Kingdom retains the title Duke of Normandy in respect to the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands (except for Chausey under French sovereignty) remain Crown dependencies of the British Crown in the present era. Unlike the Isle of Man, these islands have no specific title pertaining to them. The Loyal Toast in the Channel Islands is La Reine, notre Duc or The Queen, our Duke (or when the monarch is male, The King, our Duke).
[edit] List of Dukes of Normandy
[edit] Early Dukes of Normandy (911-1204)
- Rollo 911-927
- William I Longsword 927-942
- Richard I 942-996
- Richard II the Good, 996-1027
- Richard III, 1027-1028
- Robert I, 1028-1035
- William II the Conqueror 1035-1087
- Robert II 1087-1106
- Henry I Beauclerk 1106-1135
- William III (under his father, Henry I)
- Stephen of Blois 1135-1144
- House of Plantagenet
- Geoffrey of Anjou 1144-1150
- Henry II 1150-1189
- Richard IV Lionheart 1189-1199
- John 1199-1216, lost mainland Normandy in 1204 but retained the Channel Islands
[edit] Dukes of Normandy proper (1204-1792)
- In 1204, the King of France confiscated the Duchy of Normandy (with only the Channel Islands remaining under English control) and subsumed it into the crown lands of France. The followings Kings of France ruled as Dukes of Normandy:
- House of Capet
- Philip II Augustus, 1180–1223
- Louis VIII, 1223–1226
- Louis IX, 1226–1270
- Philip III, 1270–1285
- Philip IV, 1285–1314
- Louis X, 1314–1316
- John I, 1316
- Philip V, 1316–1322
- Charles IV, 1322–1328
- House of Valois
- Philip VI, 1328–1332
- In 1332, King Philip VI gave the Duchy in appanage to his son
- John II 1332-1355, who became King of France in 1350
- In 1355, King John II gave the Duchy in appanage to his son
- Charles V 1355-1380, who became King of France 1364
- Charles VI, 1380–1420
- House of Lancaster
- The English House of Lancaster renewed English claims to formerly Plantagenet territories in France and to the French crown itself. In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes made the English King heir to the French throne, regent of France and Duke of Normandy proper.
- Henry V of England, 1420-1422
- Henry VI of England, 1422-1450, who in 1422 also succeeded his grandfather Charles VI as King of France.
- House of Valois
- Charles VII, 1450–1461
- Charles disputed the French Kingship of Henry VI and by 1450 had reconqured most of France, including Normandy.
- Louis XI, 1461–1465
- In 1465, King Louis XI gave the Duchy to his brother
- Charles de Valois, Duke of Berry, 1465-1466
- Afterwards, the Duchy was again subsumed into the crown lands and remained a permament part of it.
- Louis XI, 1461–1465
- Charles VIII, 1483–1498
- Louis XII, 1498–1515
- Francis I, 1515–1547
- Henry II, 1547–1559
- Francis II, 1559–1560
- Charles IX, 1560–1574
- Henry III, 1574–1589
- House of Bourbon
- Henry IV, 1589–1610
- Louis XIII, 1610–1643
- Louis XIV, 1643–1715
- Louis XV, 1715–1774
- Louis XVI, 1774–1792
- Louis XVII, 1792–1795 (claimant)
[edit] Dukes of Insular Normandy (Channel Islands)
- With the Treaty of Paris (1259), the English Kings recognised the French crown's possession of mainland Normandy but retained the Channel Islands, for which they henceforth used the title "Duke of Normandy":
- House of Plantagenet
- Henry III, 1216/1259-1272
- Edward I, 1272–1307
- Edward II, 1307–1327
- Edward III, 1327–1377
- Richard V, 1377–1399
- House of Lancaster
- House of York
- Edward IV, 1461–1470
- House of Lancaster
- Henry VI, 1470–1471
- House of York
- Edward IV, 1471-1483
- Edward V, 1483
- Richard III, 1483–1485
- House of Tudor
- Henry VII, 1485–1509
- Henry VIII, 1509–1542
- Edward VI, 1547–1553
- Jane Grey, 1553 (disputed)
- Mary I, 1553–1558
- Elizabeth I, 1558–1603
- House of Stuart
- James I, 1603–1625
- Charles I, 1625–1649
- Charles II, 1660–1685
- James II, 1685–1688
- William III, 1689–1702, jointly with:
- Mary II, 1689–1694
- Anne, 1702-1714
- House of Hanover
- George I, 1714-1727
- George II, 1727-1760
- George III, 1760-1820
- George IV, 1820-1830
- William V, 1830-1837
- Victoria, 1837-1901
- House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha/Windsor
- Edward VII, 1901-1910
- George V, 1910-1936
- Edward VIII, 1936
- George VI, 1936-1952
- Elizabeth II, since 1952
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Onslow, Richard (Earl of Onslow). The Dukes of Normandy and Their Origin. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1945.
- ^ "Royal Insight October 2003". The official website of the British Monarchy. 2008. http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page2601.asp. Retrieved on 2008-09-15.
- ^ "Royal Insight January 2007". The official website of the British Monarchy. 2008. http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page5744.asp. Retrieved on 2008-09-15.
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