Marquess

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, seeMarchesa (disambiguation),Marchese (disambiguation),Marchioness (disambiguation),Marquis (disambiguation),Marquise (disambiguation),Marquesa (disambiguation),andMarquess (disambiguation).

Amarquess(UK:/ˈmɑː(r)kwɪs/;French:marquis[maʁki])is anoblemanof high hereditary rank in various Europeanpeeragesand in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent isMarkgraf(margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or thewife(or widow) of a marquess is amarchionessormarquise.These titles are also used to translate equivalent Asian styles, as inImperial ChinaandImperial Japan.

A portrait ofWilliam Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothianwearing hisBritish Armyuniform.

Etymology

The wordmarquessentered the English language from theOld Frenchmarchis( "ruler of a border area" ) in the late 13th or early 14th century. The French word was derived frommarche( "frontier" ), itself descended from theMiddle Latinmarca( "frontier" )Margraveand marchese in thekingdoms of Italy,from which the modern English wordmarchalso descends. The distinction between governors of frontier territories and interior territories was made as early as the founding of theRoman Empirewhen 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 theByzantine Empire,withdux(literally, "leader" ) being used for a provincial military governor and the rank ofcomes(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. SeeBelgian nobility § Marquesses in the Belgian nobilityandList of noble families in Belgium § Marquesses.

Spain

In Spain, the rank of Marquess/Marchioness (Marqués/Marquesa) still exists. One hundred forty-two of them are Spanishgrandees.Normally amarquésis addressed as "The Most IllustriousLord "(Ilustrísimo Señor), or if he/she is a grandee as "The Most ExcellentLord "(Excelentísimo Señor). Examples include theMarquess of Carpio,Grandee of Spain.

United Kingdom

Main article:Marquesses in the United Kingdom

In Great Britain and historically in Ireland, a marquess ranks below adukeand above anearl.A woman with the rank of a marquess, or the wife of a marquess, is amarchioness/ˌmɑːrʃəˈnɛs/.The dignity, rank, or position of the title is a marquisate or marquessate.

Thehonorificprefix "The Most Honourable"precedes the name of a marquess or marchioness of theUnited Kingdom.

InGreat Britain,and historically inIreland,the spelling of this title ismarquess.In Scotland, the French spellingmarquisis sometimes used.

Thecoronetfor a marquess in the British realms

The theoretical distinction between a marquess and other titles has, since theMiddle Ages,faded into obscurity. In times past, the distinction between acountand a marquess was that the land of a marquess, called amarch,was on the border of the country, while a count's land, called acounty,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 aduke,which was often largely restricted to the royal family.

The rank of marquess was a relatively late introduction to the British peerage: nomarcher lordshad the rank of marquess, though some wereearls.On the evening of theCoronation of Queen Victoriain 1838, the Prime MinisterLord Melbourneexplained 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 fewViscounts,"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.

Analogous non-Western titles

TheMarquess of Trazegnies

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:

• Inancient China,Hầu (hóu) anoble rankcreated byKing Wu of Zhoufor rulers of newly conquered regions, and is generally translated as marquess or marquis.Inimperial China,Hầu (hóu) is generally, but not always, a middle-to-high ranking hereditary nobility title. Its exact rank varies greatly from dynasty to dynasty, and even within a dynasty. It is often created with different sub-ranks, withLiệt hầu(liè hóu,Ranged Marquis) generally the highest.
• InMeiji Japan,Hầu tước (kōshaku), a hereditary peerage (kazoku) rank, was introduced in 1884, granting a hereditary seat in the upper house of the imperial diet just as a British peerage did (until theHouse of Lords Act 1999), with the ranks usually rendered as baron, viscount, count, marquis and duke/prince.
• InKorea,the title of 현후 ( huyện hầu;hyeonhu), the meaning of which is "marquess of district", existed for the hereditary nobility in theGoryeo dynasty.It was equivalent to the upper fifth rank of nine bureaucratic orders, and was in the third rank of six nobility orders. The title of Buwongun, could be received only Father in law of King or The Vassals who dedicate Notably to create New kingdom is also same as Marquess. In theJoseon dynasty,there was no title equivalent to marquess.
• InMaritime Southeast Asia,temenggong(ortumenggung) is a title used by Islamic dynasties such asMataram SultanateandJohorto designate a noble ruled over a frontier area or district, or to a chief of public security. Tumenggung ranks belowBendaharaor vizier.
• InVietnam,hầu(Hầu) was a senior title of hereditary nobility, equivalent to marquis, for male members of the imperial clan, ranking underhoàng đế( hoàng đế )(emperor),vương( vương )(king/prince),quốc công( quốc công )(grand duke/duke of the nation),quận công( quận công )(provincial duke) andcông( công )(duke, rather like a GermanFürst), and abovebá( bá )(count),tử( tử )(viscount) andnam( nam )(baron).

In fiction

See also:List of fictional nobility § Marquesses and marchionesses

Marquesses and marchionesses have occasionally appeared in works of fiction.

See also

• Mark (county)
• Marquesses in the United Kingdom
• List of marquesses in the peerages of Britain and Ireland
• List of marquessates in the peerages of Britain and Ireland
• List of marquesses in Italy
• List of marquises in Norway
• List of marquises in Portugal
• Exarch

References

• The Chronological Peerage of England, hereditarytitles as of 2 March 2003;[1];omits Normanby, misspells Hartington as Martington, places Marquess of Lorn and Kintyre in the peerage of England (Scotland is more probable).
• EtymologyOnLine
• Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Buckingham and Normanby, John Sheffield, 1st Duke of".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 727–728.— "and in 1694 was made marquess of Normanby"

External links

• Media related toMarquessesat Wikimedia Commons
• "Marquess".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 17 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 751.