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The French nobility () was an
aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...
social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...
in France from the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napoléon bestowed titles that were recognized as a new
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
by the Charter of 4 June 1814 granted by
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Louis XVIII of France 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 ...
. From 1814 to 1848 (
Bourbon Restoration in France The Bourbon Restoration was the period of French history during which the House of Bourbon returned to power after the fall of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814 and 1815. The second Bourbon Restoration lasted until the July Revolution of 183 ...
and
July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...
) and from 1852 to 1870 (
Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
) the French nobility was restored as a hereditary distinction without any privileges and new hereditary titles were granted. Since the beginning of the
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
on 4 September 1870 the French nobility has no legal existence and status. However, the former authentic titles transmitted regularly can be recognized as part of the name after a request to the Department of Justice. Families of the French nobility could have two origins as to their principle of nobility: the families of immemorial nobility and the ennobled families. Sources differ about the actual number of French families of noble origin, but agree that it was proportionally among the smallest noble classes in Europe. For the year 1789, French historian François Bluche gives a figure of 140,000 nobles (9,000 noble families) and states that about 5% of nobles could claim descent from feudal nobility before the 15th century. With a total population of 28 million, this would represent merely 0.5%. Historian Gordon Wright gives a figure of 300,000 nobles (of which 80,000 were from the traditional , ), which agrees with the estimation of historian Jean de Viguerie, or a little over 1%. At the time of the Revolution, noble estates comprised about one-fifth of the land. In 2016, it was estimated that roughly 4,000 families could claim to be French nobility, totaling around 50,000–100,000 individuals, or roughly the same number as they were in the 1780s.


Origins of French nobility

Among the French nobility, two classes were distinguished: * The immemorial nobility for the families recognized for having always lived nobly. * The ennobled families (ennobled by an office or by
Letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...
from the King). In the 18th century, the comte de Boulainvilliers, a rural noble, posited the belief that French nobility had descended from the victorious
Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
, while non-nobles descended from the conquered Gallo-Romans and subdued Germanic tribes that had also attempted to seize
Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
before the Franks, such as the
Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...
and
Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...
. The theory had no proven basis, but offered a comforting myth for an increasingly impoverished noble class. The French historian Guy Chaussinand-Nogaret, specialist of the French nobility in the 18th century, writes that some historians mistakenly confused the knightly nobility (noblesse chevaleresque) with the sword nobility (noblesse d'épée) that they opposed the robe nobility. He reminds that sword nobility and robe nobility are states, professions and not social classes within the French nobility and that they often merge within the same family. He writes that the notion of sword nobility means nothing and he reminds us that the King of France did not establish a military nobility until 1750.


Immemorial nobility

The immemorial nobility (also called or ) includes the families recognized for having always lived nobly and never ennobled. Genealogists sometimes make the following distinctions: * (nobility of the sword): Known as France's oldest aristocracy, but its existence has, in recent years, been questioned by some scholars. * (feudal nobility): nobility proved since the 11th century. * (knightly nobility): nobility proved since the 14th century with the qualification of "knight" at this time. * (nobility of old extraction): nobility proved since the 15th century. * (nobility of extraction): nobility proved since the 16th century.


Ennobled families

The ennobled families includes the families ennobled by an office or by
letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...
from the King. Different principles of ennoblement can be distinguished: * (nobility of the robe): person or family made noble by holding certain official charges, like masters of requests, treasurers, or Presidents of
Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...
courts. The existed by longstanding tradition. In 1600 it gained legal status. High positions in regional
parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...
s, tax boards (), and other important financial and official state offices (usually bought at high price) conferred nobility, generally in two generations, although membership in the Parlements of Paris,
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 ...
,
Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...
and
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
, as well as on the tax boards of Paris, Dole and
Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
elevated an official to nobility in one generation. * (nobility of the chancery): commoner made noble by holding certain high offices for the king. The first appeared during the reign of Charles VIII at the end of the 15th century. To hold the office of
chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
required (with few exceptions) noble status, so non-nobles given the position were raised to the nobility, generally after 20 years of service. Non-nobles paid enormous sums to hold these positions, but this form of nobility was often derided as ("soap for serfs"). * ("nobility of the bell") or ("Nobility of the Aldermen"): person or family made noble by being a mayor () or alderman () or (, or "municipal functionary") in certain towns (such as
Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...
and
Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...
,
Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...
,
Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...
,
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
,
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...
, and
Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...
). Some towns and cities received the status temporarily or sporadically, like
Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...
, Issoudun,
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...
,
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
,
Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
,
Niort Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; ; ) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres. The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the urban area. Geography T ...
,
Saint-Jean-d'Angély Saint-Jean-d'Angély (; Saintongeais dialect, Saintongeais: ''Sént-Jhan-d'Anjhéli'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department in southwestern France. The commune has its historical origins i ...
and
Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
. There were only 14 such communities by the beginning of the Revolution. The dates from 1372 (for the city of
Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...
) and was found only in certain cities with legal and judicial freedoms, such as Toulouse with the , acquiring nobility as city councillors; by the Revolution these cities were only a handful. * (military nobility): person or family made noble by holding military offices, generally after two or three generations. * (ennobled through Letters Patent): person made noble by letters patent from after the year 1400. The became, starting in the reign of Francis I, a handy method for the court to raise revenues; non-nobles possessing noble fiefs would pay a year's worth of revenues from their fiefs to acquire nobility. In 1598, Henry IV undid a number of these , but eventually resumed the practice.


Acquisition

Depending on the office, the acquisition of nobility could be done in one generation or gradually over several generations: * (nobility in the first generation): nobility awarded in the first generation, generally after 20 years of service or by death in one's post. *: nobility awarded in the second generation, generally after 20 years of service by both father and son. Once acquired, nobility was hereditary in the legitimate male line for all male and female descendants, with some exceptions of (through the female line) recognized as valid in the provinces of
Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
and
Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...
. Wealthy families found ready opportunities to pass into the nobility: although nobility itself could not, legally, be purchased, lands to which noble rights and/or title were attached could be and often were bought by commoners who adopted use of the property's name or title and were henceforth assumed to be noble if they could find a way to be exempted from paying the to which only commoners were subject. Moreover, non-nobles who owned noble fiefs were obliged to pay a special tax () on the property to the noble liege-lord.


Proofs of nobility

Henry IV began to enforce the law against usurpation of nobility, and in 1666–1674
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
mandated a massive program of verification. Oral testimony maintaining that parents and grandparents had been born noble and lived as such were no longer accepted: written proofs (marriage contracts, land documents) proving noble rank since 1560 were required to substantiate noble status. Many families were put back on the lists of the and/or forced to pay fines for usurping nobility. Many documents such as notary deeds and contracts were forged, scratched or overwritten resulting in rejections by the crown officers and more fines. During the same period Louis XIV, in dire need of money for wars, issued blank letters- patent of nobility and urged crown officers to sell them to aspiring squires in the Provinces. The rank of noble was forfeitable: certain activities could cause (loss of nobility), within certain limits and exceptions. Most commercial and manual activities, such as tilling land, were strictly prohibited, although nobles could profit from their lands by operating mines, glassworks and
forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
s. A nobleman could emancipate a male heir early, and take on derogatory activities without losing the family's nobility. If nobility was lost through prohibited activities, it could be recovered as soon as the said activities were stopped, by obtaining letters of relief. Finally, certain regions such as Brittany applied loosely these rules allowing poor nobles to plough their own land.


Privileges

From feudal times to the abolition of the privileges in 1789, the French nobility had specific legal and financial rights and prerogatives. The first official list of these prerogatives was established relatively late, under
Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
after 1440, and included the right to hunt, to wear a
sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
and to possess a (land to which certain feudal rights and dues were attached). Nobles were also granted an exemption from paying the taille, except for non-noble lands they might possess in some regions of France. Furthermore, certain ecclesiastic, civic, and military positions were reserved for nobles. These feudal privileges are often termed .


Duties

Nobles were required to serve the king. They were required to go to war and fight and die in the service of the king, so called ("blood tax").


History


The Fronde and the Wars of Religion

Before
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
imposed his will on the nobility, the great families of France often claimed a fundamental right to rebel against unacceptable royal abuse. The Wars of Religion, the Fronde, the civil unrest during the minority of Charles VIII and the regencies of
Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...
and Marie de' Medici are all linked to these perceived loss of rights at the hand of a centralizing royal power. Before and immediately after the Revocation of the
Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...
in 1685, many Protestant noble families emigrated and by doing so lost their lands in France. In certain regions of France a majority of the nobility had turned to Protestantism and their departure significantly depleted the ranks of the nobility. Some were incorporated into the nobility of their countries of adoption. By relocating the French royal court to
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
in the 1680s,
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
further modified the role of the nobles. Versailles became a gilded cage: to leave spelled disaster for a noble, for all official charges and appointments were made there. Provincial nobles who refused to join the Versailles system were locked out of important positions in the military or state offices, and lacking royal subsidies (and unable to keep up a noble lifestyle on seigneurial taxes), these rural nobles () often went into debt. A strict
etiquette Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...
was imposed: a word or glance from the king could make or destroy a career. At the same time, the relocation of the court to Versailles was also a brilliant political move by Louis. By distracting the nobles with court life and the daily intrigue that came with it, he neutralized a powerful threat to his authority and removed the largest obstacle to his ambition to centralize power in France. Much of the power of nobles in these periods of unrest comes from their "clientèle system". Like the king, nobles granted the use of fiefs, and gave gifts and other forms of patronage to other nobles to develop a vast system of noble clients. Lesser families would send their children to be squires and members of these noble houses, and to learn in them the arts of court society and arms. The elaboration of the state was made possible only by redirecting these clientèle systems to a new focal point (the king and the state), and by creating countervailing powers (the bourgeoisie, the ). By the late 17th century, any act of explicit or implicit protest was treated as a form of and harshly repressed. Economic studies of nobility in France at the end of the 18th century, reveal great differences in financial status at this time. A well-off family could earn 100,000–150,000 livres (₶) per year, although the most prestigious families could gain two or three times that much. For provincial nobility, yearly earnings of 10,000 livres permitted a minimum of provincial luxury, but most earned far less. The ethics of noble expenditure, the financial crises of the century and the inability of nobles to participate in most fields without losing their nobility contributed to their relative poverty. Guy Chaussinand-Nogaret divides the nobility of France into five distinct wealth categories, based on research into the capitation tax, which nobles were also subject to. The first category includes those paying over 500 livres in capitation and enjoying at least 50,000₶ in annual income. 250 families in total comprised this group, the majority living in Paris or at court. The second group numbered around 3,500 families with incomes between 10,000₶ and 50,000₶. These were the rich provincial nobility. In the provinces, their incomes allowed them a lavish lifestyle, and they made up 13% of the nobility. The third group were the 7,000 families whose income was between 4,000 and 10,000₶ per annum, which allowed a comfortable life. In the fourth group, 11,000 noble families had between 1,000 and 4,000₶ per year. They could still lead a comfortable life provided they were frugal and did not tend toward lavish expenditures. Finally in the fifth group were those with less than 1,000₶ per year; over 5,000 noble families lived at this level. Some of them had less than 500₶, and some others had 100 or even 50₶. This group paid either no or very little capitation tax.


The French Revolution

At the beginning of the French Revolution, on 4 August 1789, the dozens of small dues that a commoner had to pay to the lord, such as the banalités of
manorialism Manorialism, also known as seigneurialism, the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "Land tenure, tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features incl ...
, were abolished by the National Constituent Assembly; noble lands were stripped of their special status as fiefs; the nobility were subjected to the same taxation as their co-nationals, and lost their privileges (the hunt, seigneurial justice, funeral honors). The nobles were, however, allowed to retain their titles. This did not happen immediately. Decrees of application had to be drafted, signed, promulgated and published in the provinces, such that certain noble rights were still being applied well into 1791. Nevertheless, it was decided that certain annual financial payments which were owed the nobility and which were considered "contractual" (i.e. not stemming from a usurpation of feudal power, but from a contract between a landowner and a tenant) such as annual rents (the and the ) needed to be bought back by the tenant for the tenant to have clear title to his land. Since the feudal privileges of the nobles had been termed , these were called . The rate set (3 May 1790) for purchase of these contractual debts was 20 times the annual monetary amount (or 25 times the annual amount if given in crops or goods); peasants were also required to pay back any unpaid dues over the past thirty years. No system of credit was established for small farmers, and only well-off individuals could take advantage of the ruling. This created a massive land grab by well-off peasants and members of the middle-class, who became absentee landowners and had their land worked by sharecroppers and poor tenants. The
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Decl ...
had adopted by vote of the Assembly on 26 August 1789, but the abolition of nobility did not occur at that time. The Declaration declared in its first article that "Men are born free and equal in rights; social distinctions may be based only upon general usefulness." It was not until 19 June 1790, that hereditary titles of nobility were abolished. The notions of equality and fraternity won over some nobles such as the Marquis de Lafayette who supported the abolition of legal recognition of nobility, but other liberal nobles who had happily sacrificed their fiscal privileges saw this as an attack on the culture of honor.


The First Empire

From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napoléon bestowed titles, which the ensuing Bourbon Restoration acknowledged as a new nobility by the Charter of 4 June 1814 granted by King
Louis XVIII of France 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 ...
. Napoleon also established a new knightly order in 1802, the , which still exists but is no longer hereditary. He decreed that after three generations of legionaries created knights by letters patent, they would receive hereditary nobility, but a small number of French families meet the requirement and the decree was abrogated and no longer applied.


The Restoration, July Monarchy and Second Empire (1814–1870)

From 1814 to 1848 ( Bourbon Restoration and
July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...
) and from 1852 to 1870 (
Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
) the French nobility was restored as an hereditary distinction without privileges, and new hereditary titles were granted. Nobility and titles of nobility were abolished in 1848 during the
French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (), also known as the February Revolution (), was a period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation of the French Second Republic. It sparked t ...
, but hereditary titles were restored in 1852 by decree of the emperor
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
.


From the Third Republic (1870) to today

Since the
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
on 4 September 1870 the French nobility is no longer recognized and has no legal existence and status. The former regularly transmitted authentic titles can however be recognized as part of a name, after a request to the Department of Justice.


Aristocratic codes

The idea of what it meant to be noble went through a radical transformation from the 16th to the 17th centuries. Through contact with the
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...
and their concept of the perfect courtier ( Baldassare Castiglione), the rude warrior class was remodeled into what the 17th century would come to call ('the honest or upright man'), among whose chief virtues were eloquent speech, skill at dance, refinement of manners, appreciation of the arts, intellectual curiosity, wit, a spiritual or platonic attitude in love, and the ability to write poetry. Most notable of noble values are the aristocratic obsession with glory () and majesty () and the spectacle of power, prestige, and luxury. For example,
Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage ...
's noble heroes have been criticised by modern readers who have seen their actions as vainglorious, criminal, or hubristic; aristocratic spectators of the period would have seen many of these same actions as representative of their noble station. The château of
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
, court ballets, noble portraits, and
triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...
es were all representations of glory and prestige. The notion of glory (military, artistic, etc.) was seen in the context of the Roman Imperial model; it was not seen as vain or boastful, but as a moral imperative to the aristocratic classes. Nobles were required to be "generous" and " magnanimous", to perform great deeds disinterestedly (i.e. because their status demanded it – whence the expression – and without expecting financial or political gain), and to master their own emotions, especially fear, jealousy, and the desire for vengeance. One's status in the world demanded appropriate externalisation (or
conspicuous consumption In sociology and in economics, the term conspicuous consumption describes and explains the consumer practice of buying and using goods of a higher quality, price, or in greater quantity than practical. In 1899, the sociologist Thorstein Veblen c ...
). Nobles indebted themselves to build prestigious urban mansions () and to buy clothes, paintings, silverware, dishes, and other furnishings befitting their rank. They were also required to show liberality by hosting sumptuous parties and by funding the arts. Conversely, social who took on the external trappings of the noble classes (such as the wearing of a sword) were severely criticised, sometimes by legal action; laws on sumptuous clothing worn by the bourgeois existed since the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. Traditional aristocratic values began to be criticised in the mid-17th century:
Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal (19June 162319August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. Pascal was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. His earliest ...
, for example, offered a ferocious analysis of the spectacle of power and François de La Rochefoucauld posited that no human act – however generous it pretended to be – could be considered disinterested.


Titles

Nobility and
hereditary title Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are nobility titles, positions or styles that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families. Though both monarchs and nobles usually inherit their titles, the mechanisms often d ...
s were distinct: while all hereditary titleholders were noble, most nobles were untitled, although many assumed
courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...
s. The authentic titles of nobility would be created or recognized by letters patent of the sovereign. If a title was not created or recognized by the sovereign it was a
courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...
without legal status or rank. Generally the titles were hereditary but could sometimes be personal. Under the
Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...
(before the French Revolution of 1789) titles were linked to a land called . *
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
(during the
First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...
): Under the
Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...
some families were possessors of lordships called a principality () and sometimes the king recognized them the use of this title but as a title of courtesy without any rank. * (duke) * (marquess) * (count) * (viscount) *: a rare title, always with the name of a
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
, as their origin was as the commander of a bishop's forces * * (during the
First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...
), also was a title borne by a noble who belonged to an
order of chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and ...
During the , there was no distinction of rank by title (except for the title of duke, which was often associated with the strictly regulated privileges of the
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...
, including precedence above other titled nobles). The hierarchy within the French nobility below peers was initially based on seniority; a
count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
whose family had been noble since the 14th century was higher ranked than a whose title only dated to the 18th century. Precedence at the royal court was based on the family's , its (marriages), its (dignities and offices held) and, lastly, its (record of deeds and achievements). Note: * (esquire) was not a noble title, but an
honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...
or courtesy title borne by untitled nobles to indicate that they were noble. * ("Lord of the manor" and literally: "lord"): indicated a landlord's property but it did not indicate the owner was noble, especially after the 17th century. *Titles worn by members of the royal family (, etc.) were not titles of nobility but titles of dignity. The use of the nobiliary particle in a name is not a sign of nobility. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the was adopted by large numbers of non-nobles (like
Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...
or Gérard de Nerval) in an attempt to appear noble. It has been estimated that today 90% of names with a particle are non-noble and a few authentic "extraction" nobles are without any particle at all. Noble hierarchies were further complicated by the creation of chivalric orders – the (Knights of the Holy Spirit) created by Henry III in 1578; the created by
Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
in 1469; the ''
Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fi ...
'' created by
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
in 1696 – by official posts, and by positions in the Royal House (the Great Officers of the Crown of France), such as ('grand master of the wardrobe', the royal dresser) or (royal bread server), which had long ceased to be actual functions and had become nominal and formal positions with their own privileges. The 17th and 18th centuries saw nobles and the compete with each other for these positions and any other signs of royal favor.


Heraldry

In France, by the 16th century the signet ring () bearing a coat of arms was not a sign or proof of nobility, as many bourgeois families were allowed to register their arms, and they often wore them as a pretense of nobility. However, all noble families did have a registered coat of arms. The ring was traditionally worn by Frenchmen on the ring finger of their left hand, contrary to usage in most other European countries (where it is worn on the little finger of either the right or left hand, depending on the country); French women, however, wore it on their left little finger. Daughters sometimes wore the signet ring of their mother if the father lacked a coat of arms, but a son would not. Originally, its purpose was practical and was worn by nobles and officials in the Middle Ages to press down and seal the hot wax with their coat of arms for identification on official letters, but this function became degraded over time as more non-nobles wore them for perceived status. The may either be worn facing up () or facing toward the palm (). In contemporary usage, the inward position is increasingly common, although some noble families traditionally use the inward position to indicate that the wearer is married. There is no legal or formal control or protection over signet ring carrying.


Symbolic crowns



First Empire


Peerage

* Peerage of France **
List of French peerages For an explanation of the French peerage, see the article Peerage of France. Note that peerages and titles were distinct, and the date given for the extinction of the peerage is not necessarily the same as that of the extinction of the title. Fo ...
/ List of French peers *** Dukes in France and List of French dukedoms ** List of coats of arms of French peers *
Seigneurial system of New France The manorial system of New France, known as the seigneurial system (, ), was the semi-feudal system of land tenure used in the North American French colonial empire. Economic historians have attributed the wealth gap between Quebec and other pa ...


References


Works cited

* Bénichou, Paul (1948). . Paris: Gallimard. *Bluche, François (1993). . Collection: . Paris: Fallois. *Chaussinand-Nogaret, Guy (1985). ''The French Nobility in the Eighteenth Century''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Hobsbawm, Eric (1996). ''The Age of Revolution''. New York: Vintage. . *Major, J. Russell (1994). ''From Renaissance Monarchy to Absolute Monarchy: French Kings, Nobles & Estates''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins. * Elias, Norbert (1983) 969 ''The Court Society''. New York: Pantheon. * Soboul, Albert (1982). . Paris: . * De Viguerie, Jean (1995). . Collection: Bouquins. Paris: Laffont. * Wright, Gordon (1987). ''France in Modern Times''. 4th ed. New York: Norton.


Further reading

*Ford, Franklin L. (1953). ''Robe & Sword: The Regrouping of the French Aristocracy after Louis XIV''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. *Dioudonnat, Pierre-Marie (1994). ''Encyclopedie de la Fauss Noblesse et de la Noblesse d'Apparence''. New ed. Paris: Sedopols. *De la Chesnaye-Desbois et Badier, François, ed. (1967–1873). . 3d ed. Paris: Bachelin-Deflorenne. Reprinted by Kraus-Thomson Organization, 1969. * Pillorget, René and Pillorget, Suzanne (1995). . Collection: Bouquins. Paris: Laffont. {{DEFAULTSORT:French Nobility * Political history of the Ancien Régime European clans