Duchy Explained

A duchy, or dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a high-ranking nobleman hierarchically second to the king or queen in European tradition. The term is used almost exclusively in Europe, where in the present day there is no sovereign duchy (i.e. with the status of a nation state) left.

The term "duke" (like the corresponding "duchy") should not be confused with the title Grand Duke (or Grand Duchy, such as the present-day Grand Duchy of Luxembourg), as there exists a significant difference of rank between the two.

In common European cultural heritage, a grand duke is the third highest monarchic rank, after emperor and king. Its synonym in many Slavic and Baltic European languages (Russian, Lithuanian, etc.) is translated as Grand Prince, whereas most Germanic and Romance European languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian etc.) use expressions corresponding to Grand Duke.[1] Unlike a duke, the sovereign grand duke is considered royalty (or in German, 'royal nobility', Königsadel). The proper form of address for a grand duke is His Royal Highness (HRH),[2] whereas for a non-royal duke in the United Kingdom it is His Grace.

In contrast to this, the rank of a duke differs from one country to the next. In Germany, for example, a duke is listed in the aristocratic hierarchy below an emperor (Kaiser), king (König), grand duke (Großherzog), and elector (Kurfürst)– in that order – whereas in Britain the duke comes third after king/queen and prince (there are no British grand dukes or electors).[3]

In all countries, there existed an important difference between "sovereign dukes" and dukes subordinate to a king or emperor. Some historic duchies were sovereign in areas that would become part of nation-states only during the modern era, such as Germany (a federal empire) and Italy (a unified kingdom). In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that had unified either partially or completely during the medieval era, such as France, Spain, Sicily, Naples, and the Papal States. In England, the term is used in respect of non-territorial entities.


Traditionally, a grand duchy, such as Luxembourg or Tuscany (1569–1860), was generally independent and sovereign. There were also many sovereign or semi-sovereign duchies in the de facto confederate Holy Roman Empire (961–1806) and German-speaking areas.

In France, a number of duchies existed in the medieval period including Normandy, Burgundy, Brittany, and Aquitaine.



In more recent times, territorial duchies have become rare; most dukedoms conferred in the last few centuries have been of a purely ceremonial or honorific character (see Duke). At present all independent (i.e., sovereign) duchies have disappeared.

Luxembourg, an independent and sovereign nation with a history dating back as far as the 8th century,[5] is the only remaining independent grand duchy, with the Grand Duke Henri I (dynasty of Luxembourg-Nassau) as its head of state since the year 2000.

In the middle east the concept of beylik can be seen as equivalent to duchy ("bey" being a Turkish title for the head of a house, and similar to "duke" when that person is the highest representative of the state in a principality). For example, the Ottoman Empire, first just the nomadic Kayı tribe among the Ghuzz (Oghuz Turks), settled in Bithynia on the border to the Byzantine Empire, evolved under the Sultanate of Rûm (Seljuks in Anatolia) into a border principality (Uç beyliği /margraviate). It became an independent principality after the Anatolian Seljuk state was shattered by the Mongols. Later it grew further into its own empire by conquering the nearby Anatolian beyliks, also remnants of the Sultanate of Rûm.

List of grand duchies

See main article: Grand duchy.


List of duchies


Baltic States




See main article: Duchies in England.



Holy Roman Empire

The following duchies were part of the medieval Kingdom of Italy (not to be confused with the modern Kingdom of Italy (1860-1945)), which itself was part of the Holy Roman Empire:


Papal States (Holy See)




All provinces of Sweden have the right to have a ducal coronet in their arms.[6] [7] The king gives princes and princesses ducal titles of them. The current such royal duchies are:

Other current or historical duchies

See also

Fictional duchies

Fictional grand duchies


  1. Meyers Taschenlexikon Geschichte 1982, vol. 2, p. 319.
  2. Meyers Taschenlexikon Geschichte 1982, vol. 1, p. 21.
  3. Meyers Taschenlexikon Geschichte 1982, vol. 3, p. 62.
  4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1150417 The Second War of the Roses
  5. Paul Margue, Luxemburg in Mittelalter und Neuzeit, publ. Bourg-Bourger, Luxembourg City 1974, p13
  6. Clara Nevéus in Ny svensk vapenbok 1992 Streiffert & Riksarkivet, Stockholm p. 17
  7. http://heraldik.se/artiklar/allmant-om-heraldik/vad-ar-heraldik/

External links