Archduke 599359 224802831 2008-07-10T14:07:53Z CsikosLo 4217525 /* Ruler style */ typo {{for|the butterfly|Archduke (butterfly)}} {{for|"Archduke" Piano Trio by Beethoven|Piano Trio No. 7 (Beethoven)}} {{wiktionary}} The title of '''Archduke''' (feminine: '''Archduchess''') ([[German language|German]]: ''Erzherzog'', feminine -also spousal- form: ''Erzherzogin'') denotes a rank above [[Duke]] and under [[King]], but is too rare and yet has uses too diverse to be given a fixed relative position within the former [[Holy Roman Empire]] to which it was restricted. It has only ever been continuously borne by princes of the House of [[Habsburg]] and later through the female line into the House of [[Habsburg-Lorraine]]. The first seventy-three people in the line of succession to the throne of the Imperial and Royal Family of [[Austria-Hungary]] are all [[Imperial Highness|Imperial]] and [[Royal Highness|Royal]] (HI&RH) Archdukes. ==Ruler style== The English word is recorded only since 1530, derived from Middle - via Old French ''archeduc'', from [[Merovingian]] [[Latin]] ''archidux'', from ''arch(i)-'' (see arch- (adj.)) + [[dux]] 'duke' . Archduke (''Erzherzog'') is a title distinct from [[Grand Duke]] (''Großherzog'' or ''Großfürst''), used in some other [[Germany|German]] royal houses and still in sovereign [[Luxemburg]]. First use was as a the title of the rulers of [[Austrasia]] (c.750), one of the Frankish realms resulting from the complex successions in the house of [[Clovis]], roughly comprising Germany, [[Switzerland]] and the [[Low Countries]]. In the [[Carolingian]] Empire it was awarded as a unique promotion to the duke of [[Lotharingia]] (much larger than [[Lorraine (province)|Lorraine]]), which could be seen as successor to the former Carolingian kingdom of Lothringia which had been at par at least with [[West Francia]] (modern France) in the dynastic divisions under the early heirs of [[Charlemagne]] but ended up absorbed by [[East Francia]] (Greater Germany). After the split (959) of the (arch)duchy into Upper- (German ''Oberlothringen'', including modern [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine]]) and Lower Lothringia (German ''Niederlothringen'', north of it, with seat at [[Cologne]] and originally vested in its [[prince-archbishop]], but extending north all the way to [[Frisia]]) and the latter's further fragmentation, two of the 'succeeding' duchies in the Low Countries, [[Brabant]] (mainly in present Belgium) and [[Gelre]] (now in the Dutch kingdom and giving its name to the province of [[Gelderland]]), claimed the archducal rank but were never officially granted it by the [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. The [[Dutch language|Dutch]] form is ''Aartshertog''. [[Image:Erzherzogshut.jpg|thumb|Crown of the Archduke of Austria.]] The title Archduke of Austria, the only one to become generally notable, was invented in the [[Privilegium Maius]], a [[14th century]] forgery initiated by Duke [[Rudolf IV of Austria]]. Originally, it was meant to denote the ruler of the (thus 'Arch')duchy of [[Austria]], in an effort to put that ruler on par with the [[Prince-elector]]s, as Austria had been passed over in the [[Golden Bull of 1356]], when the electorships had been assigned. Holy Roman Emperor [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]] refused to recognize the title. Duke [[Ernest of Austria (Habsburg)|Ernest the Iron]] and his descendants unilaterally assumed the title "archduke"; This title was only officially recognized in [[1453]] by [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Frederick III]], when the [[Habsburg]]s had (permanently) gained control of the office of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. First it was granted to Frederick's younger brother, Albert VI of Austria (d. 1463), who used the title at least from 1458. In 1477, Frederick III granted the title archduke also to his first cousin, [[Sigismund of Austria]], ruler of [[Further Austria]]. Frederick's son and heir, the future [[Emperor Maximilian I]], started to use the title, but obviously only after the death of his wife [[Mary of Burgundy]] (d. 1482) as the title never appears in documents of joint Maximilian and Mary rule in the [[Low Countries]] (where Maximilian is still titled Duke of Austria). The title appears first in documents of joint Maximilian and [[Philip I of Castile|Philip]] (his under-age son) rule in the Low Countries. Emperor Frederick III himself used just Duke of Austria, never Archduke, until his death in 1490. [[Ladislaus the Posthumous]], Duke of Austria, who died in 1457, was never in his lifetime authorized to use it, and accordingly, not he nor anyone in his branch of the dynasty ever used the title. Female children of the dynasty were not yet entitled to the title in the 15th century. It was used only by those dynasts who ruled a Habsburg territory, i.e., only by males and their consorts. ==Other dynastic Habsburg use== Often imprecisely rendered as [[Grand Duke]] (actually a lower rank with which it should not be confused), Grand Prince (in German ''Großfürst'', not ''Großherzog'') was used for the rulers of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]] (which in 1386 formed a [[personal union]] with Poland) and [[Moscovia]], the nucleus of later imperial Russia until its ruler assumed the sovereign style [[Tsar]] of royal rank, and still later emperor in imperial Russia. "Archduke" was used for non-sovereign rulers as a titular rank for princes of the Austrian ruling house of Habsburg, in titulary chief of an Austrian homeland but without becoming its hereditary ruler since all territories remained vested in the Austrian crown. Occasionally it might be combined with a separate gubernatorial mandate. From the [[16th century]] onward, Archduke and its female form, Archduchess, came to be used by all the members of the [[Royal house|House]] of Habsburg, similar to the title [[Prince]] (of the blood) in many other royal houses. For example, Queen [[Marie Antoinette]] of France was born Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria. This practice was maintained, after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, in the [[Austrian Empire]] ([[1804]]-[[1867]]) and the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]] (1867-[[1918]]). With the abolition of the imperial monarchy in 1919, noble titles and the peerage system were abolished in Austria. Thus, those members of the extended Habsburg family who are citizens of the federal [[Republic of Austria]], are simply known by their respective first name and their surname, Habsburg-Lothringen. The use of aristocratic titles such as archduke is in fact illegal in Austria. However, some members of the family who are citizens of other countries such as [[Germany]], where aristocratic titles have become part of the name, may use the title. ==Fictional Archdukes== * [[Poggle the Lesser]] was the Archduke of [[Geonosis]], a planet from the [[Star Wars]] [[universe]]. == Sources and references == *[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=archduke&searchmode=none EtymologyOnLine] *[http://www.geocities.com/eurprin/austria.html Use of the title "archduke" in contemporaneous documents] == See also == *[[Archducal hat]] *[[List of rulers of Austria]] [[Category:Dukes| ]] [[Category:Austrian nobility]] [[Category:German noble titles]] [[Category:History of Austria]] [[Category:House of Habsburg]] [[Category:Royal titles]] [[bs:Nadvojvoda]] [[bg:Ерцхерцог]] [[cs:Arcivévoda]] [[da:Ærkehertug]] [[de:Erzherzog]] [[et:Ertshertsog]] [[es:Archiduque]] [[fr:Archiduc]] [[hu:Főherceg]] [[nl:Aartshertog]] [[no:Erkehertug]] [[pl:Arcyksiążę]] [[pt:Arquiduque]] [[ru:Эрцгерцог]] [[simple:Archduke]] [[sk:Arcivojvoda]] [[fi:Arkkiherttua]] [[sv:Ärkehertig]] [[vi:Đại công tước Áo]] [[tr:Arşidük]] [[uk:Архикнязь]]