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Marquess

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A Marquess is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European monarchies (lacking in some other) and some of their colonies. Also used to render equivalent oriental styles as in imperial China and Japan. 
In the British peerage it ranks below a Duke and above an Earl, on the continent usually equivalent where a cognate title exists.

A woman with the rank of Marquess (rare), or the wife of a Marquess, is a Marchioness, pronounced: Mar-she-on-ess (spoken:Mah-shuh-ness).





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Origin

The original title was Margrave, or rather its original in German, Markgraf, with a few equivalents in other languages in use in parts of the Holy Roman Empire (such as Markgraaf in Dutch, Margravio in Italian).
The English word derives via the Middle French marquis (feminine, marquise) from Old French Marchis  from Medieval Latin marca "frontier, frontier territory", ultimately from a Germanic word for 'border' (mark) which in English became march, plural marches. The French form marquis, recorded in English since 1300, is still sometimes used (especially in Scotland), though marquess is now the preferred British usage.  


They were originally counts who were granted extra powers because they guarded border areas. This gave them precedence over other counts (in England, earls).  This origin is still evident in the German language (Mark+graf=March+count).


In Venice, so many of the nobles in the Libro d'Oro styled themselves marchese by 1529, that when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, entered Venice that year, he lost patience with the distinctions among his recent, desultory enemies: vos omnes marchiones appello he announced, "I call all of you marchesi" to the delight of a contemporary Florentine. This story was revived when Genoa joined the Kingdom of Italy in 1861: all the patricians of Genoa were declared marchesi al cognome ("marchesi by name"— "only" being implied).



British Marquesses


Peerage of England

Unlike the continent, in England (later Britain, ultimately the UK) the monarchy as the only authority capable of awarding hereditary titles, managed to keep a tight grip on aristocratic titles, so the ranks of the peerage still correspond fairly neatly to the wealth of those who bear titles. Thus, there are currently only 34 marquessates (see list). 


The first marquess in England was Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford, who was created Marquess of Dublin by Richard II on the 1 December 1385. On 13 October 1386, the patent of this marquessate was recalled, and Robert de Vere was raised to Duke of Ireland. John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, the second legitimate son of John of Gaunt, was raised to the second marquessate as Marquess of Dorset in September 1397. In 1399, he was disgraced, and the king revoked his marquessate. The Commons petitioned Richard for his restoration but he himself objected stating "the name of marquess is a strange name in this realm". From that period the title appears to have been dormant till the reign of Henry VI, when it was revived in 1442. The first woman to be created a marchioness in her own right was Lady Anne Boleyn, who was created Marchioness of Pembroke in preparation for her marriage to Henry VIII. The investiture ceremony was held at Windsor Castle on September 1 1532.



Forms of address

A British Marquess is formally styled 'The Most Honourable The Marquess of X'*, and informally styled 'Lord X', and his wife 'Lady X'. As with Dukes, all sons bear the courtesy style 'Lord Forename [Surname]' and all daughters bear the courtesy style 'Lady Forename [Surname]'. This courtesy style for the eldest son, however, is often trumped by a subsidiary title of his father, such as Earl or Viscount, which is used instead (especially for signing documents, the signature being only the name of the title, 'X'. This form of signature is true for all peers, including peers by courtesy. 


For example, the Marquess of Salisbury would sign his name merely 'Salisbury'. The Duke of Devonshire signs his name 'Devonshire'. Royal peers, although they may also just sign the name of their peerage, normally just sign their forename, which is a princely prerogative. Hence His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales signs his name simply 'Charles', instead of 'Wales'. To make matters a bit more interesting, a Prince of Wales, unlike other Princes, may attach to his name 'Princeps', which is Latin for prince. He is permitted this special honour since the Principality of Wales is, extraordinarily, a peerage in its own right (in a class of its own- Duke is considered the first rank in the peerage). 


A Marquess by courtesy, however, (which would always be the heir to a dukedom, since the courtesy title of an heir must always be at least one rank below that of the peer) does not enjoy the style of 'Most Honourable', but is merely known as the 'Marquess of X'. The genuine Marquess as a peer, however, is always the 'Most Honourable the Marquess of X', to differentiate a Marquess by courtesy (i.e. the heir of a dukedom) from a Marquess in his own right.





Marquesal titles in other European languages

The following list may still be incomplete. Female forms follow after a slash; many languages have two words, one for the 'modern' Marquess and one for the original margrave
In Italy the equivalent modern rank (as opposed to margravio) is that of marchese, the wife of whom is a marchesa, a good example of how several languages adopted a new word derived from Marquis for the modern style, thus distinguishing it from the old 'military' margraves. Even where neither title ever was used domestically, such duplication to describe foreign titles can exist.



Germanic languages


Romance languages


Slavonic and Baltic languages


Other languages



Outside Europe

Various European monarchies created titles of various ranks, including Marquess, in chief of "titles" (estates, or simply the names of places or regions) in their colonial territories overseas, e.g. in Spanish and South America, regardless whether the ennobled families resided there.



Equivalent non-Western titles

Another matter is the common equation of titles in non-western traditions with European peerage. 


See also



Sources and references




























 




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