Dauphin of France (, also ; ), originally Dauphin of Viennois (''Dauphin de Viennois''), was the title given to the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word ''dauphin'' is French for

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

and was the hereditary title of the ruler of the Dauphiné of Viennois. While early heirs were granted these lands to rule, eventually only the title was granted.

History

Guigues IV, Count of Vienne, had a

on his

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

and was nicknamed ''le Dauphin''. The title of Dauphin de Viennois descended in his family until 1349, when Humbert II sold his

seigneury A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal system, feudal title in Ancien Régime, France before the French Revolution, Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owne ...

, called the

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

, to King Philippe VI on condition that the heir of France assume the title of ''le Dauphin''. The wife of the Dauphin was known as ''la Dauphine''. The first French prince called ''le Dauphin'' was Charles the Wise, later ascending to the throne as

Charles V of France Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (; ), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War as his armies recovered much of the terri ...

. The title was roughly equivalent to the Spanish '' Prince of Asturias'', the Portuguese ''

Prince of Brazil Prince of Brazil () was the title held by the heir-apparent to the Kingdom of Portugal, from 1645 to 1815. Tied with the title of Prince of Brazil was the title Duke of Braganza and the various subsidiary titles of the Dukedom of Braganza. The ...

'', the English (thence British) ''

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

'', the Dutch '' Prince of Orange'', and the Scottish '' Duke of Rothesay''. The official style of a Dauphin of France, prior to 1461, was ''par la grâce de Dieu, dauphin de Viennois, comte de Valentinois et de Diois'' ("By the Grace of God, Dauphin of Viennois, Count of Valentinois and of Diois"). A Dauphin of France united the coat of arms of the Dauphiné, which featured dolphins, with the French fleurs-de-lis, and might, where appropriate, further unite that with other arms (e.g. Francis, son of Francis I, was ruling Duke of Brittany, so united the arms of that province with the typical arms of a Dauphin; Francis II, while Dauphin, was also King of Scots by marriage to Mary I, and added the arms of the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...

to those of the Dauphin). Originally the Dauphin was personally responsible for the rule of the

, which was legally part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, and which the emperors, in giving the rule of the province to the French heirs, had stipulated must never be united with France. Because of this, the Dauphiné suffered from anarchy in the 14th and 15th centuries, since the Dauphins were frequently minors or concerned with other matters. During his period as Dauphin, Louis, son of Charles VII, defied his father by remaining in the province longer than the king permitted and by engaging in personal politics more beneficial to the Dauphiné than to France. For example, he married Charlotte of Savoy against his father's wishes.

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

was a traditional ally of the Dauphiné, and Louis wished to reaffirm that alliance to stamp out rebels and robbers in the province. Louis was driven out of the Dauphiné by Charles VII's soldiers in 1456, leaving the region to fall back into disorder. After his succession as Louis XI of France in 1461, Louis united the Dauphiné with France, bringing it under royal control. The title was automatically conferred upon the next heir apparent to the throne in the direct line upon birth, accession of the parent to the throne or death of the previous Dauphin, unlike the British title ''Prince of Wales'', which has always been in the gift of the monarch (traditionally conferred upon the heir's 21st birthday). The sons of the King of France held the style and rank of ''

fils de France ''Fils de France'' (, ''Son of France'') was the style (manner of address), style and Ranks of nobility and peerage, rank held by the sons of the French monarchy, kings and Dauphin of France, dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille d ...

'' (son of France), while male-line grandsons were given the style and rank of ''petits-enfants de France'' (Grandson of France). The sons and grandsons of the Dauphin ranked higher than their cousins, being treated as the king's children and grandchildren respectively. The sons of the Dauphin, though grandsons of the king, were ranked as Sons of France, and the grandsons of the Dauphin ranked as Grandsons of France; other great-grandsons of the king ranked merely as princes of the blood. The title was abolished by the Constitution of 1791, which made France a constitutional monarchy. Under the constitution the heir-apparent to the throne (Dauphin Louis-Charles at that time) was restyled ''Prince Royal'' (a ''Prince of the Blood'' retitled ''prince français''), taking effect from the inception of the Legislative Assembly on 1 October 1791. The title was restored ''in potentia'' under the Bourbon Restoration of

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

, but there would not be another Dauphin until after his death. With the accession of his brother

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

, Charles' son and heir Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême automatically became Dauphin. With the removal of the Bourbons the title fell into disuse, the heirs of Louis-Philippe being titled ''Prince Royal''. After the death of

Henri, comte de Chambord Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883), was the Legitimist pretender to the throne of France as Henri V from 1844 until his death in 1883. Henri was the only son of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of ...

, Carlos, Duke of Madrid, the heir of the legitimist claimant, Juan, Count of Montizón, made use of the title in pretense, as have the Spanish legitimist claimants since.

Gallery of Arms

Image:Dauphin of Viennois Arms.svg, Arms of the

Image:Blason dauphine fr Bretagne.svg, Arms of Dauphin

François François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * Voltaire, Fran ...

, Duke of Brittany. File:Arms of Francis, Dauphin of France and King consort of Scots.svg, Arms of Dauphin Francis, King-consort of Scots. Image:Crown of the Dauphin of France.svg, Heraldic Crown of the Dauphin of France.

List of Dauphins

In literature

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

's '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', Huck encounters two odd characters who turn out to be professional con men. One of them claims that he should be treated with deference, since he is "really" an impoverished English

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, and the other, not to be outdone, reveals that he is "really" the Dauphin " Looy the Seventeen, son of Looy the Sixteen and Marry Antonet". Louis, Duke of Guyenne, the Dauphin of Viennois, is a character in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's '' Henry V''. In Baroness Emma Orczy's '' Eldorado'', the Scarlet Pimpernel rescues the Dauphin from prison and helps spirit him from France. Alphonse Daudet wrote a short story called "The Death of the Dauphin", about a young Dauphin who wants to stop Death from approaching him. The Dauphin is also mentioned in Cormac McCarthy's '' Blood Meridian''. "The Dauphin" is a 1988 episode of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. As the titular character is female, the episode title gets the gender incorrect (the French female equivalent is "Dauphine"). Robert Pattinson portrays the Dauphin of Viennois in '' The King''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dauphin of France

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Royal titles French monarchy