History of the French appanage An appanage was a concession of a
fief by the sovereign to his younger sons, while the eldest son became king on the death of his father. Appanages were considered as part of the inheritance transmitted to the (younger sons). The word was specifically used for the royal princes holding an
appanage. These lands returned to the
royal domain (the territory directly controlled by the king) on the extinction of the princely line, and could not be sold (neither hypothetically nor as a
dowry). Daughters were initially able to inherit the appanages under the
Capetian kings. However, under the
House of Valois,
Salic law was applied, which prohibited women from inheriting. The system of appanage has played a particularly important role in
France. It developed there with the extension of royal authority from the 13th century, then disappeared from the
late Middle Ages with the affirmation of the exclusive authority of the royal state. It strongly influenced the territorial construction, explaining the arms of several provinces. The
prerogative of
Burgundy is also the origin of the
Belgian,
Luxembourgeois and
Dutch states, through the action of its
dukes favored by their position in the court of the
kings of France.
Primogeniture avoids territorial splintering, which the earlier Frankish tradition of
partible inheritance (equal division) suffered from (e.g. under the
Merovingians and subsequent
Carolingians). But primogeniture creates resentment in younger sons who inherit nothing. Appanages thus were used to sweeten the bitter pill of
primogeniture and deter revolt of younger sons by diverting their aspirations of claiming their eldest brother's throne.
House of Capet Unlike their predecessors (the Carolingians), the
Capetian dynasty's hold on the crown was initially tenuous. They could not afford to divide the kingdom among all their sons, and the royal domain was very small, initially consisting solely of the
Île-de-France. So the Capetians broke away from the Frankish custom of partible inheritance, to instead have the eldest son alone become King and receive the royal domain (except for any appanages). Most Capetians endeavored to add to the royal domain through incorporation of additional fiefs, large or small, and thus gradually obtained direct lordship over almost all of France. Their first king
Hugh Capet (elected
King of the Franks on the death of
Louis V in 987) only had one son,
Robert II. But Robert had multiple sons. One of them,
Henry I of France, became the first king to create an appanage in 1032, when he gave the
Duchy of Burgundy to his younger brother
Robert I of Burgundy (whose descendants retained the duchy until 1361 with the extinction of the first Capetian
House of Burgundy by the death of
Philip de Rouvre).
Louis VIII and
Louis IX also created appanages.
House of Valois The king who created the most powerful appanages for his sons was
John II of France. His youngest son,
Philip the Bold, founded the second Capetian House of Burgundy in 1363. By marrying the heiress of Flanders, Philip also became ruler of the Low Countries. King
Charles V tried to abolish the appanage system, but in vain. Provinces conceded in appanage tended to become
de facto independent and the authority of the king was recognized there reluctantly. In particular the line of
Valois Dukes of Burgundy caused considerable trouble to the French crown, with which they were often at war, often in open alliance with the English. Theoretically appanages could be reincorporated into the royal domain but only if the last lord had no male heirs. Kings tried as much as possible to rid themselves of the most powerful appanages.
Louis XI retook the Duchy of Burgundy at the death of its last duke,
Charles the Bold.
Francis I confiscated the
Bourbonnais, after the treason in 1523 of his commander in chief,
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, the 'constable of Bourbon' (died 1527 in the service of
Emperor Charles V). The first article of the
Edict of Moulins (1566) declared that the royal domain (defined in the second article as all the land controlled by the crown for more than ten years) could not be alienated, except in two cases: by interlocking, in the case of financial emergency, with a perpetual option to repurchase the land; and to form an appanage, which must return to the crown in its original state on the extinction of the male line. The (incumbent) therefore could not separate himself from his appanage in any way. After
Charles V of France, a clear distinction had to be made between titles given as names to children in France, and true appanages. At their birth the French princes received a title independent of an appanage. Thus, the
Duke of Anjou, grandson of
Louis XIV, never possessed Anjou and never received any revenue from this province. The king waited until the prince had reached adulthood and was about to marry before endowing him with an appanage. The goal of the appanage was to provide him with a sufficient income to maintain his noble rank. The fief given in appanage could be the same as the title given to the prince, but this was not necessarily the case. Only seven appanages were given from 1515 to 1789.
Post-Revolution Appanages were abolished in 1792 before the proclamation of the
Republic. The youngest princes from then on were to receive a grant of money but no territory. Appanages were reestablished under the first French empire by
Napoleon Bonaparte and confirmed by the Bourbon restoration-king
Louis XVIII. The last of the appanages, the
Orléanais, was reincorporated to the French crown when the Duke of Orléans,
Louis Philippe I, became king of the French in 1830. The word is still used in French figuratively, in a non-historic sense: "to have appanage over something" is used, often in an ironic and negative sense, to claim exclusive possession over something. For example, "cows have appanage over prions".
List of major French appanages Direct Capetians •
Henry I gave the
Duchy of Burgundy to his brother
Robert. •
Louis VI gave the
County of Dreux to his son
Robert. The lineage of the counts became extinct in 1355, but a cadet line, descended from
Pierre Mauclerc, became Dukes of Brittany. •
Philip II gave his son
Philippe Hurepel the county of Clermont, then the counties of
Domfront and
Mortain. •
Louis VIII, by his 1225 will, granted • the
County of Artois to his second son
Robert. Artois was lost by Robert's male heirs, passing through a female line, and eventually was inherited by the Dukes of Burgundy.
Louis XI seized it upon the death of
Charles the Bold in 1477, but his son returned it to Charles's heirs in preparation for his invasion of Italy in 1493. • the Counties of
Poitou and
Auvergne to his fourth son
Alphonse. These returned to the crown when Alphonse died without heirs in 1271. • the Counties of
Anjou and
Maine to his third son
John. They returned to the crown when John died without heirs in 1232. •
Louis IX endowed • the Counties of
Anjou and
Maine (1246) to his youngest brother,
Charles. They passed to Charles's granddaughter, who married Charles, Count of Valois, the younger son of
Philip III, and thence to their son,
Philip. When Philip inherited the throne as Philip VI, the lands reverted to the crown. • the
County of Orléans to his eldest son, Philip. It returned to the crown when he succeeded his father in 1270 as
Philip III. • the
County of Valois (c. 1268) to his second son,
Jean Tristan. This title became extinct upon Jean Tristan's death in 1270. • the Counties of
Alençon and
Perche (1268) to his third son,
Pierre. This title became extinct on Pierre's death in 1284. • the
County of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis (1269) to his fourth son,
Robert. Robert's son,
Louis, was later given the
Duchy of Bourbon, which was treated as an appanage, although it was not technically one. Louis later traded Clermont for
La Marche with his cousin
Charles, Count of Angoulême, younger brother of King Philip V. These appanages remained in the Bourbon family until they were confiscated due to the treason of
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon in 1527. • Philip III granted • the
County of Valois to his second son
Charles. Charles was later given the Counties of
Alençon,
Perche, and
Chartres by his brother,
Philip IV of France. Valois passed to Charles's eldest son Philip upon his death in 1325, and returned to the crown when Philip became King Philip VI in 1328. Alençon and Perche passed to Charles's younger son,
Charles. A descendant was raised to the dignity of Duke of Alençon. These titles returned to the crown upon the extinction of the Alençon line in 1525. • the
County of Beaumont-sur-Oise to his third son
Louis. Louis was later given the
County of Évreux by his brother Philip IV. These titles returned to the throne upon the death of Queen
Blanche of Navarre in 1441. • Philip IV endowed • the
County of Poitou for his second son,
Philip. This title returned to the throne when Philip became king in 1316. • the Counties of
La Marche and
Angoulême for his third son,
Charles IV. Charles later traded La Marche for the
County of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis with the
Duke of Bourbon. His titles returned to the throne when Charles became king in 1322.
House of Valois • Philip VI granted • the
Duchy of Normandy to his elder son
John. This title returned to the throne when John succeeded his father in 1350. • the
Duchy of Orléans to his younger son
Philip. This title returned to the throne when Philip died without issue in 1375. • John II 'the Good', on his departure to England in 1360, granted • the Duchies of
Anjou and
of Maine to his second son
Louis. This title returned to the throne upon the death of duke
Charles IV, Louis I's great-grandson, in 1481. • the Duchies of
Berry and
Auvergne to his third son
John. These titles returned to the throne upon John's death without male issue in 1416. • In 1363, John II granted the
Duchy of Burgundy to his fourth son
Philip. Upon the death of Philip's great-grandson
Charles the Bold in 1477, King Louis XI claimed the reversion of Burgundy and seized the territory. It continued to be claimed, however, by Charles's daughter
Mary and her heirs. When Mary's grandson
Emperor Charles V defeated and captured
Francis I at the
Battle of Pavia in 1525, he forced Francis to sign a treaty recognizing him as Duke of Burgundy, but Francis disavowed the treaty when he was released, and the cession was revoked by the
Treaty of Cambrai four years later. Charles and his heirs reserved their claims, however, and this reservation was repeated as late as the
Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, when
Philip IV of Spain continued to reserve his rights to the Duchy. •
Charles VI granted the
Duchy of Orléans and the
County of Angoulême to his brother
Louis in 1392. The Duchy of Orléans returned to the crown when Louis I's grandson became
Louis XII of France in 1498. The County of Angoulême returned to the crown when Louis I's great-grandson became
Francis I of France in 1515. • Louis XI granted the Duchies of
Berry,
Normandy, and
Guyenne to his younger brother
Charles. These titles returned to the crown when Charles died in 1472. •
Francis I granted the Duchies of
Orléans,
Angoulême, and
Châtellerault and the Counties of
Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and
La Marche to his second surviving son,
Charles in 1540. To this was added the
Duchy of Bourbon in 1544. These titles returned to the crown when Charles died without issue in 1545. •
Charles IX granted • the Duchies of
Anjou and
Bourbonnais and the
County of Forez to the older of his two brothers,
Henry, in 1566. He added the
Duchy of Auvergne to these holdings in 1569. The titles returned to the crown when Henry succeeded his brother in 1574. • the Duchies of
Alençon and
Château-Thierry and the Counties of
Perche,
Mantes, and
Meulan to his youngest brother,
Francis in 1566. To this he later added the
Duchy of Évreux and the
County of Dreux in 1569. Francis's other brother, Henry III, increased his holdings still further in 1576, granting him the Duchies of
Anjou,
Touraine, and
Berry and the
County of Maine. All these titles returned to the crown upon Francis's death without issue in 1584.
House of Bourbon •
Louis XIII granted the Duchies of
Orléans and
Chartres and the
County of Blois to his younger brother
Gaston in 1626. To this was added the
Duchy of Valois in 1630. These titles returned to the crown on Gaston's death without male issue in 1660. •
Louis XIV granted • the Duchies of
Orléans,
Chartres, and
Valois to his brother,
Philippe in 1661. To this was added the
Duchy of Nemours in 1672. These titles passed to his descendants and were abolished during the Revolution in 1790. They were restored to the heir at the time of the
Restoration in 1814. At the accession of
Louis Philippe I, these titles merged into the crown. • the Duchies of
Alençon and
Angoulême and the
County of Ponthieu to his third grandson,
Charles, duc de Berry in 1710. These titles returned to the crown upon his death without surviving issue in 1714. •
Louis XV granted • the
Duchy of Anjou and the Counties of
Maine,
Perche, and
Senonches to his second surviving grandson,
Louis-Stanislas, comte de Provence in 1771. Louis-Stanislas was further given the
Duchy of Alençon by his brother
Louis XVI in 1774. These titles were abolished during the Revolution in 1790. When the monarchy and appanages were restored in 1814, Louis had inherited the throne as Louis XVIII, and his titles merged into the crown. • the Duchies of
Auvergne,
Angoulême and
Mercœur and the
Viscounty of Limoges to his youngest grandson
Charles, comte d'Artois in 1773. To this was added in 1774 by his brother, Louis XVI the
Marquisate of Pompadour and the
Viscounty of Turenne. In 1776, Louis XVI deprived Charles of Limoges, Pompadour, and Turenne, and gave him in exchange the Duchies of
Berry and
Châteauroux, the Counties of
Argenton and
Ponthieu, and the
Lordship of Henrichemont. In 1778, the appanage was further reshaped, with Auvergne and Mercœur removed and replaced with the
County of Poitou, leaving Charles with a final appanage consisting of the Duchies of Angoulême, Berry, and Châteauroux, the Counties of Argenton, Ponthieu, and Poitou, and the Lordship of Henrichemont. These titles were abolished during the Revolution in 1790, but were restored at the time of the Restoration in 1814. They merged into the crown when Charles became king in 1824. Although Napoleon restored the idea of appanage in 1810 for his sons, none were ever granted, nor were any new appanages created by the restoration monarchs. ==Western feudal appanages outside France==