Duke of the Franks

The titleDuke(and Prince)of the Franks(Latin:dux(et princeps)Francorum) has been used for three different offices, always with "duke" implying military command and "prince" implying something approaching sovereign or regalian rights. The term "Franks"may refer to an ethnic group or to the inhabitants of a territory calledFrancia.

The first office was that of themayors of the palaceof theMerovingian kings of the Franks,whose powers increased as those of the kings declined. The second was that of the second-in-command to the earlykings of France,the last incumbent of which succeeded to the throne in 987. This title was sometimes rendered asDuke of France(dux Franciae). The third instance was that of the rulers inEast Francia(now Germany) of the so-called"tribal" duchyofFranconia.

Dux et princeps Francorum

Up until the time afterDagobert I,the titleprinceps(prince) had royal connotations. The first time it was used to describe the mayors of the palace ofNeustriawas in mid-7th-century saints' lives. TheVita Eligiirefers to unspecifiedprincipesof thepalatiumof Neustria, and theVita BaldechildisandPassio Leudegariidescribe the mayorsErchinoaldandEbroinas princes.^[1]Pippin IIfirst used the titleprincepsafter his victory at theBattle of Tertryin 687.^[2]^[3]Both theLiber historiae Francorumand theVita Dagoberti tertiirefer to him by this title, but the continuation of theChronicle of Fredegaruses only the title "duke".^[1]The historianBederefers to Pippin II asdux Francorum,but the ninth-centuryAnglo-Saxontranslator of Bede uses the termFroncna cyning(king of the Franks).^[4]The continuator ofFredegarrefers toRagamfredas a prince, but he only calls his rival, Pippin's sonCharles Martel,a prince after his victory over Ragamfred in 718.^[5]The princely title was used continuously from this point on for Charles and his descendants, theCarolingians,both in narrative and charter sources.^[1]

In 742, Pippin's grandson,Carloman,held his greatConcilium Germanicum,at which he addressed the assembled "servants of God and my great men... who are in my kingdom" as "duke and prince of the Franks".^[6]The council declared that "without the patronage of the prince of the Franks it is impossible to defend the people of the church, the presbyters, clerics, monks and nuns of God."^[7]^[8]When in 744 Carloman's brother,Pippin III,used the same title, he did not refer to "my kingdom", since by then aMerovingianking,Childeric III,had been appointed.^[9]The ducal/princely title used by the early Carolingians marked them off as peers of theduke–princes of Aquitaine,also nominally under the Merovingians, rather than as sovereigns over them.^[10]

Dux Franciae

A charter from the reign of KingOdo(888–898) for the churchSaint-Aignan d'Orléansthat titlesRobert the Strongdux Francorumis a 17th-century forgery.^[11]

Between 936 and 943, the titledux Francorumwas revived at the request ofHugh the Great,the most powerful magnate in France. A charter of KingLouis IVof 936 refers to him that way, and a charter of Hugh's own from 937 employs the title. Its usage was not exclusive, however, since the title "count" (comes) continued to be used as well.^[12]In one charter, Louis explained that Hugh was second to him in all his kingdoms.^[13]This interpretation of the titledux Francorumwas not universally accepted. According toFlodoard of Reims,the king only "invested Hugh with the duchy of France"^[14]in 943 in reward for the latter's help in returning the king from exile. The duchy ofFrancia(ducatus Franciae) comprised the region between theLoireand theSeine,the ancient kingdom ofNeustria.^[15]On this contemporary understanding, Hugh's title was analogous to that of the dukes of Aquitaine,dux Aquitanorum,where the territorial designation ( "of Aquitaine" ) was eschewed in favour of an ethnic one ( "of the Aquitainians" ).^[16]"Duke of the Franks" thus became the preferred title of theRobertian margraves of Neustriafrom 943.^[17]Walther Kienast suggested that the title served to connect Hugh with the previousduces Francorum,Pippin II and Charles Martel, and buttress his authority in Francia, from which he was frequently absent on visits to the royal court.^[18]

Hugh died in 956 and was succeeded by his son and heir, the childHugh Capet.In 960, according to Flodoard, "the king [Lothair] made Hugh [Capet] a duke, and added for him thecountry of Poitouto the land which his father had held. "^[19]The younger Hugh's first charter with the ducal title dates to 966, while the first royal charter with the title dates to 974.^[12]Lothair son,Louis V,alreadyking of the Aquitainians,recognised Hugh as duke of the Franks in a charter of 979.^[12]The title fell into abeyance and the Neustrian march ceased to form an administrative unit after Hugh succeeded to the French throne in 987.^[20]^[21]Nevertheless, the officials and vassals (fideles) of the duchy of Francia became the chief men of the king of France after 987. Although theroyal demesnewas enlarged by Hugh's accession, royal action became more geographically restricted to Francia.^[22]

Modern historians have proffered two interpretations of the 10th-century use ofdux Francorum.Jan Dhondt and Walther Kienast argued that the title was a royal concession recognising the actual power acquired by the Robertians over the region known asFrancia,that is, old Neustria. Thus the title was territorial in nature, reflective of Hugh's real power and a royal (legal) grant.^[23]Ferdinand Lotargued that the title was viceregal and represented authority in theory over the entire realm and in fact power second only to that of the king.^[24]

Dux Francorum orientalium

The emergence of theDuchy of Franconiafrom "a position of leadership amongst the Frankish nation in the eastern kingdom" in the late 9th century is poorly documented. The first clear duke wasConrad the Elder,who was alsoDuke of Thuringia.In 906 he died and was succeeded as duke by his son,Conrad the Younger,who was electedKing of Germanyin 911, without relinquishing his ducal office. Although it seems likely that Conrad's brother,Eberhard,held the duchy of Franconia during the reign ofHenry I(919–36), the first reference to him with the titledux Francorumcomes from early in the reign ofOtto I(936–73).^[25]

In 956,Otto (II) the SalianinheritedNahegaufrom his father,Conrad the Red,then addedWormsgau,Speyergau,Niddagauand between the Neckar and the Rhine the counties ofElsenzgau,Kraichgau,Enzgau,Pfinzgauand perhapsUfgau.^[26]Otto wasDuke of Carinthiafrom 978 to 985, and after his retirement from Carinthian office was titledWormatiensis dux Francorum( "Frankish duke of Worms" ), the first titular dukedom in Germany. His son,Conrad,who succeeded him in Carinthia, was also titled "duke of Worms".^[27]

Conrad III of Germany,before his election as king, held the title "Duke of the East Franks" (dux Francorum orientalium).^[28]

Notes

^^a ^b ^cLewis 1976,p. 404 n. 149.
^Wolfram 1971,p. 38.
^Depreux 2012,p. 64.
^Loyn 1953,p. 514 n. 6.
^Lewis 1976,p. 404 n. 149. Technically, the chronicler refers to Ragamfred's "principality" or "princedom" (principatus)..
^Wolfram 1971,p. 38:servi Dei et optimates mei... qui in regno meo sunt... dux et princeps Francorum.
^Higgins 1933,p. 209:Sine patrocinio principis Francorum nec populam aecclesiae regere nec presbiteros vel clericos, monachos vel ancillas Dei defendere possum.
^Boniface 1976,pp. 91–94, has a translation of Carloman's decree.
^Wolfram 1971,p. 39.
^Wolfram 1971,p. 40.
^Bautier 1961,p. 143.
^^a ^b ^cGanshof 1972,p. 15.
^Dunbabin 2000,p. 47:est in omnibus regnis nostris secundus a nobis.
^Ganshof 1972,p. 15:rex ei ducatum Franciae delegavit.
^Dunbabin 2000,p. 47.
^Wolfram 1971,p. 46.
^Dunbabin 2000,pp. 66–68, charts the evolution of old Neustria into the duchy of Francia..
^Dunbabin 2000,p. 68.
^Ganshof 1972,p. 15:Hugonem rex ducem constituit, addito illi pago Pictavensi ad terram quam pater eius tenuerat....
^Fanning 1995,p. 1250.
^Glenn 2001,pp. 1069–70.
^Dunbabin 2000,pp. 137–40.
^Ganshof 1972,pp. 15–16.
^Ganshof 1972,pp. 16.
^Jackman 1990,pp. 89–91.
^Pixton 2001,pp. 1120–21.
^Jackman 1990,p. 96.
^Lyon 2012,p. 37.

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Boniface(1976) [1940].Ephraim Emerton(ed.).The Letters of Saint Boniface.New York: Norton.
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