Titles of nobility created by Napoleon I
"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
.
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 Francois Cabau, who became
baron de l'Empire
in 1810
As
Emperor of the French
,
Napoleon I
created
titles
in a newly established
noblesse imperiale
(Imperial Nobility) to institute a stable elite in the
First French Empire
, after the instability resulting from the
French Revolution
.
[1]
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
- Sovereign princes (3)
- Dukes of large 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 of Honour
, 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 (
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
was a prince of
Benevent
), and some
Marshals of the Empire
- Duke:
for principal dignitaries and Marshals of the Empire
- Count:
for ministers, senators, archbishops,
councilors of State
, the president of the
Corps legislatif
, and some generals
- Baron:
chairmen of the
Court of Auditors
, bishops, mayors of 37
good cities
, bankers, and some 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 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
[
edit
]
Arms of
Joseph Fouche
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.
[2]
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.
[2]
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.
[2]
A decree of 3 March 1810 stated: "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.
[2]
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.
[2]
Titles
[
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]
Princes
[
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]
There were three types of princely titles:
- the
princes imperiaux
or Imperial Princes (members of the Imperial Family):
- the
prince imperial
or the
Prince Imperial
, the future '
Napoleon II
' (1811-1832; 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):
[3]
- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord
,
Prince de Benevent
- Louis-Alexandre Berthier
,
Prince de
Neuchatel
, 1806
- Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
,
Prince de Pontecorvo
, 1806?1810
- Lucien Murat
,
Prince de Pontecorvo
, 1812?1815
- Jean Lannes
,
Prince de
Sievers
- 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):
[4]
Dukes
[
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]
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):
- Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova
,
Duc de
Padoue
, 1808 (extinct in 1888)
- Jean-Baptiste Bessieres
,
Duc d'
Istrie
, 1809 (extinct in 1856)
- Jean-Jacques-Regis de Cambaceres
,
Duc de Parme
, 1808 (extinct in 1824)
- Armand-Augustin-Louis de Caulaincourt
,
Duc de
Vicence
, 1808 (extinct in 1896)
- Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke
,
Duc de
Feltre
, 1809, also
Comte d'Hunebourg
- Geraud Duroc
,
Duc de
Frioul
, 1808 (extinct in 1829)
- Joseph Fouche
,
Duc d'Otrante
, 1808 (extant)
- Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin
,
Duc de
Gaete
, 1809 (extinct in 1841)
- Charles-Francois Lebrun
,
Duc de Plaisance
, 1808 (extinct in 1927)
- Etienne Macdonald
,
Duc de
Tarente
, 1809 (extinct in 1912)
- Hugues-Bernard Maret
,
Duc de Bassano
, 1809 (extinct in 1906)
- Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey
,
Duc de
Conegliano
, 1808 (extinct in 1842)
- Edouard Mortier
,
Duc de
Trevise
, 1808 (extinct in 1912)
- Jean-Baptiste Nompere de Champagny
,
Duc de
Cadore
, (extinct in 1893)
- Nicolas Oudinot
,
Duc de
Reggio
, 1810 (extinct in 1956)
- Claude Ambroise Regnier
,
Duc de
Massa
, 1809
- Anne Jean Marie Rene Savary
,
Duc de
Rovigo
(extinct in 1872)
- Jean-de-Dieu Soult
,
Duc de
Dalmatie
, 1808 (extinct in 1857)
- Claude-Victor Perrin
,
Duc de
Belluno
, 1808 (extinct in 1853)
- the
titres de victoires
or
victory titles
, comparable to the princely titles of the same category:
[4]
- Francois Joseph Lefebvre
,
Duc de
Dantzig
, 28 May 1807 (extinct in 1820); Dantzig was then still a city republic, which became part of
Prussia
after Napoleon's defeat, and is now
Gda?sk
in
Poland
- Michel Ney,
Duc d'
Elchingen
, 1808 (extinct in 1969)
- Jean-Andoche Junot
,
Duc d'Abrantes
, 1808 (extinct in 1859, but extended in female line in 1869; extinct again in 1982)
- Louis-Nicolas Davout,
Duc d'
Auerstaedt
, 1808 (extinct in 1853, extended to collaterals)
- Charles-Pierre Augereau
,
Duc de
Castiglione
, 1808 (extinct in 1816)
- Jean Lannes,
Duc de Montebello
, 1808
- Auguste de Marmont
,
Duc de
Raguse
, 1808 (extinct in 1852); present-day
Dubrovnik
on the Croatian coast, was conquered as part of Napoleon's own Italian kingdom, and later part of the
Illyrian Provinces
- Andre Massena,
Duc de
Rivoli
, 1808
- Francois Christophe de Kellermann
,
Duc de
Valmy
, 1808 (extinct in 1868)
- Louis-Gabriel Suchet
,
Duc d'
Albufera
, 1813
- Jean-Baptiste Girard
,
Duc de
Ligny
, 1815, not recognised by the Bourbon Restoration
- the ordinary titles, which went before the name:
For a ducal title to be hereditary, it was necessary for the holder to have at least a 200,000
francs
in 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
[
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]
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 to 1814, 388 titles were created.
Barons
[
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]
The title of baron was comparable with that of count, except that the income threshold fell to 15,000 francs.
Mayors of large cities and 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
,
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
,
Ambro?y Mikołaj Skar?y?ski
,
Strolz
,
Testot-Ferry
, Thiry,
de Villeneuve
, and
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 knights of the Legion of Honour received the title of
chevalier de l'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
[
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]
References
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]
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