Marquess Explained

A marquess (;[1] French: '''marquis''' pronounced as /fr/)[2] is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) of a marquess is a marchioness or marquise. These titles are also used to translate equivalent Asian styles, as in Imperial China and Imperial Japan.

Etymology

The word marquess entered the English language from the Old French French, Old (842-ca.1400);: marchis ("ruler of a border area") in the late 13th or early 14th century. The French word was derived from French, Old (842-ca.1400);: marche ("frontier"), itself descended from the Middle Latin Latin: marca ("frontier") Margrave and marchese in the kingdoms of Italy, from which the modern English word march also descends. The distinction between governors of frontier territories and interior territories was made as early as the founding of the Roman Empire when some provinces were set aside for administration by the senate and more unpacified or vulnerable provinces were administered by the emperor. The titles "duke" and "count" were similarly distinguished as ranks in the Byzantine Empire, with Latin: dux (literally, "leader") being used for a provincial military governor and the rank of Latin: comes (literally "companion," that is, of the Emperor) given to the leader of an active army along the frontier.

Belgium

The title of marquess in Belgium predates the French Revolution and still exists today. See and .

Spain

In Spain, the rank of Marquess/Marchioness (Spanish; Castilian: Marqués/Spanish; Castilian: Marquesa) still exists. One hundred forty-two of them are Spanish grandees. Normally a Spanish; Castilian: marqués is addressed as "The Most Illustrious Lord" (Spanish; Castilian: Ilustrísimo Señor), or if he/she is a grandee as "The Most Excellent Lord" (Spanish; Castilian: Excelentísimo Señor). Examples include the Marquess of Carpio, Grandee of Spain.

United Kingdom

See main article: article and Marquesses in the United Kingdom.

In Great Britain and historically in Ireland, a marquess ranks below a duke and above an earl. A woman with the rank of a marquess, or the wife of a marquess, is a marchioness .[3] The dignity, rank, or position of the title is a marquisate or marquessate.

The honorific prefix "The Most Honourable" precedes the name of a marquess or marchioness of the United Kingdom.[4]

In Great Britain, and historically in Ireland, the spelling of this title is marquess. In Scotland, the French spelling marquis is sometimes used.

The theoretical distinction between a marquess and other titles has, since the Middle Ages, faded into obscurity. In times past, the distinction between a count and a marquess was that the land of a marquess, called a march, was on the border of the country, while a count's land, called a county, often was not. As a result of this, a marquess was trusted to defend and fortify against potentially hostile neighbours and was thus more important and ranked higher than a count. The title is ranked below that of a duke, which was often largely restricted to the royal family.

The rank of marquess was a relatively late introduction to the British peerage: no marcher lords had the rank of marquess, though some were earls. On the evening of the Coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838, the Prime Minister Lord Melbourne explained to her why (from her journals):

I spoke to [Lord Melbourne] about the numbers of Peers present at the Coronation, & he said it was quite unprecedented. I observed that there were very few Viscounts, to which he replied "There are very few Viscounts," that they were an old sort of title & not really English; that they came from Vice-Comites; that Dukes & Barons were the only real English titles; – that Marquises were likewise not English, & that people were mere made Marquises, when it was not wished that they should be made Dukes.[5]

Analogous non-Western titles

Like other major Western noble titles, marquess (or marquis) is sometimes used to translate certain titles from non-Western languages with their own traditions, even though they are, as a rule, historically unrelated and thus hard to compare. However, they are considered "equivalent" in relative rank.

This is the case with:

In fiction

Marquesses and marchionesses have occasionally appeared in works of fiction.

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: English: Marquis. Collins Dictionary. n.d.. 22 September 2014.
  2. Web site: French: Marquis. Collins Dictionary. n.d.. 22 September 2014.
  3. Web site: Marchioness. Collins Dictionary. n.d.. 22 September 2014.
  4. Web site: n.d. . Marquess and Marchioness . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141110144107/http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/marquess-and-marchioness . 10 November 2014 . 22 September 2014 . Debrett's . dmy-all.
  5. Queen Victoria's Journals, Thursday 28th June 1838, Buckingham Palace, Princess Beatrice's copies, Volume:4 (1st June 1838–1st October 1838) p. 84, online, accessed May 25, 2013
  6. Pines . Yuri. Names and Titles in Eastern Zhou Texts. T'oung Pao. 2020. 106 . 715. Brill . Leiden. Book: Li Feng . 2008. Perceptions of Antiquity in Chinese Civilization. Kuhn . Dieter. Stahl . Helga. Transmitting Antiquity: The Origin and Paradigmization of the “Five Ranks”. 112. Würzburger Sinologische Schriften. Würzberg. .
  7. Book: Dong Han Liehou juewei zhidu. zh:东汉列侯爵位制度. You Jia (尤佳). 云南大学出版社. 2015. Kunming . 47–48, 52, 73.
  8. Book: Lebra, Takie Sugiyama. Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility. 51. University of California Press. CA, US. 1993. 9780520911796.